SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - Tonight, San Francisco's Union Square will be set alight with fire dancing. The event, in addition to celebrating National Dance Week, is part of an effort to bring attention to safe and legal forms of fire artistry.

Next month, three days of fire art will be presented at a festival held in Monster Park, organized by the same folks who put together the Burning Man festival.

While fire artists are encouraged by the large public events that are featuring the artistry, they say it's still difficult for the individual artist to practice and make a living at the craft, due to the fees and restrictions The City currently imposes.

This week, several fire artists came before The City's Entertainment Commission to plead for a more affordable fee system. Currently, fire artists must pay a $160 open flame fee to The City, as well as pay a minimum fee of $380 to hire a fire marshal for four hours — even if the performance lasts for five minutes.

"The current system is very costly, regardless of the show's duration," fire artist Vatra Amidzich said. "There are very few events that can afford to assume those costs."

Instead, the San Francisco Fire Coalition proposed developing an annual permit, which would be granted after three shows were inspected and deemed safe by a fire marshal. Permit holders would agree to follow certain regulations, including notifying the Fire Department whenever they were performing.

Steven Raspa, one of the event producers for next month's Fire Arts Exposition, agreed that making fire art permits more affordable would encourage "artists to come out from the underground, to work in safer conditions," but said the concerns of the Fire Department needed to be addressed.

Another way to lower permit costs for fire artists would be to offer a fire training program, Raspa suggested, after which artists could then qualify for lower permitting fees. He also suggested offering lower permit fees for nonprofit cultural events, since "higher ticket events can afford the full fee."

The Entertainment Commission did not rule on the request, recommending they seek the support of the Fire Department for the new permitting process.

beslinger@examiner.com